On the Criminal Referral of Comey, Clinton et al: Will the Constitution Hold and the Media Continue to Suppress the Story?

Ray McGovern reports on a major development in the Russia-gate story that has been ignored by corporate media: a criminal referral to the DOJ against Hillary Clinton, James Comey and others, exposing yet again how established media suppresses news it doesn’t like–about as egregious an example of unethical journalism as there is.

By Ray McGovern Special to Consortium News

Wednesday’s criminal referral by 11 House Republicans of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as several former and serving top FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials is a giant step toward a Constitutional crisis.

Named in the referral to the DOJ for possible violations of federal law are: Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey; former Attorney General Loretta Lynch; former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe; FBI Agent Peter Strzok; FBI Counsel Lisa Page; and those DOJ and FBI personnel “connected to” work on the “Steele Dossier,” including former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente.

With no attention from corporate media, the referral was sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John Huber. Sessions appointed Huber months ago to assist DOJ Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz. By most accounts, Horowitz is doing a thoroughly professional job. As IG, however, Horowitz lacks the authority to prosecute; he needs a U.S. Attorney for that. And this has to be disturbing to the alleged perps.

This is no law-school case-study exercise, no arcane disputation over the fine points of this or that law. Rather, as we say in the inner-city, “It has now hit the fan.” Criminal referrals can lead to serious jail time. Granted, the upper-crust luminaries criminally “referred” enjoy very powerful support. And that will come especially from the mainstream media, which will find it hard to retool and switch from Russia-gate to the much more delicate and much less welcome “FBI-gate.”

As of this writing, a full day has gone by since the

Silence from The New York Times (Photo from Wikipedia)

letter/referral was reported, with total silence so far from The New York Times and The Washington Post and other big media as they grapple with how to spin this major development. News of the criminal referral also slipped by Amy Goodman’s non-mainstream DemocracyNow!, as well as many alternative websites.

The 11 House members chose to include the following egalitarian observation in the first paragraph of the letter conveying the criminal referral: “Because we believe that those in positions of high authority should be treated the same as every other American, we want to be sure that the potential violations of law outlined below are vetted appropriately.” If this uncommon attitude is allowed to prevail at DOJ, it would, in effect, revoke the de facto “David Petraeus exemption” for the be-riboned, be-medaled, and well-heeled.

Stonewalling

Meanwhile, the patience of the chairmen of House committees investigating abuses at DOJ and the FBI is wearing thin at the slow-rolling they are encountering in response to requests for key documents from the FBI. This in-your-face intransigence is all the more odd, since several committee members have already had access to the documents in question, and are hardly likely to forget the content of those they know about. (Moreover, there seems to be a good chance that a patriotic whistleblower or two will tip them off to key documents being withheld.)

The DOJ IG, whose purview includes the FBI, has been cooperative in responding to committee requests for information, but those requests can hardly include documents of which the committees are unaware.

Nunes: “We will put them on trial,” (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Putting aside his partisan motivations, House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) was unusually blunt two months ago in warning of legal consequences for officials who misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in order to enable surveillance on Trump and his associates. Nunes’s words are likely to have sent chills down the spine of those with lots to hide: “If they need to be put on trial, we will put them on trial,” he said.”The reason Congress exists is to oversee these agencies that we created.”

Whether the House will succeed in overcoming the resistance of those criminally referred and their many accomplices and will prove able to exercise its Constitutional prerogative of oversight is, of course, another matter — a matter that matters.

And Nothing Matters More Than the Media

The media will be key to whether this Constitutional issue is resolved. Largely because of Trump’s own well earned reputation for lying, most Americans are susceptible to slanted headlines like this recent one — “Trump escalates attacks on FBI …” — from an article in The Washington Post, commiserating with the treatment accorded fired-before-retired prevaricator McCabe and the FBI he (dis)served.

Nor is the Post above issuing transparently clever warnings — like this one in a lead article on March 17: “Some Trump allies say they worry he is playing with fire by taunting the FBI. ‘This is open, all-out war. And guess what? The FBI’s going to win,’ said one ally, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. ‘You can’t fight the FBI. They’re going to torch him.’” [sic]

Mind-Boggling Criminal Activity

What motivated the characters now criminally “referred” is clear enough from a wide variety of sources, including the text messages exchange between Strzok and Page. Many, however, have been unable to understand how these law enforcement officials thought they could get away with taking such major liberties with the law.

None of the leaking, unmasking, surveillance, “opposition research,” or other activities directed against the Trump campaign can be properly understood, if one does not bear in mind that it was considered a sure thing that Secretary Clinton would become President, at which point illegal and extralegal activities undertaken to help her win would garner praise, not prison. The activities were hardly considered high-risk, because candidate Clinton was sure to win.

But she lost.

Comey himself gives this away in the embarrassingly puerile book he has been hawking, “A Higher Loyalty” — which

Comey: She was going to win.

amounts to a pre-emptive move motivated mostly by loyalty-to-self, in order to obtain a Stay-Out-of-Jail card. Hat tip to Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone for a key observation, in his recent <href=”https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/james-comey-j-edgar-hoover-w519214″>article, “James Comey, the Would-Be J. Edgar Hoover,” about what Taibbi deems the book’s most damning passage, where Comey discusses his decision to make public the re-opening of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Comey admits, “It is entirely possible that, because I was making decisions in an environment where Hillary Clinton was sure to be the next president, my concern about making her an illegitimate president by concealing the re-started investigation bore greater weight than it would have if the election appeared closer or if Donald Trump were ahead in the polls.”

The key point is not Comey’s tortured reasoning, but rather that Clinton was “sure to be the next president.” This would, of course, confer automatic immunity on those now criminally referred to the Department of Justice. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men — even very tall men. One wag claimed that the “Higher” in “A Higher Loyalty” refers simply to the very tall body that houses an outsized ego.

I think it can be said that readers of Consortiumnews.com may be unusually well equipped to understand the anatomy of FBI-gate as well as Russia-gate. Listed below chronologically are several links that might be viewed as a kind of “whiteboard” to refresh memories. You may wish to refer them to any friends who may still be confused.

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He served as an Army Infantry/Intelligence officer and then a CIA analyst for a total of 30 years. In retirement, he co-created Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

In these days of hyper partisanship it’s hard to take anything seriously. I’m no defender of todays media, but 11 congressmen can fit in most elevators. If it was a bipartisan filing then you could at least see some objectivity. Until then, it’s all mudslinging

Bill

April 25, 2018 at 11:47 am

I agree. This just looks like Trump trying to use the Justice department to go after people he doesn’t like. It’s a totally partisan effort.

Paul G.

April 27, 2018 at 4:50 pm

More like digging up the mud that Hillary and friends created and are mired in. Not very clean mud either more like something from a superfund site.

Peppermint

April 24, 2018 at 10:16 am

This is late in the game, but given what’s being discussed I thought it applicable. W.H. Auden:

We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.

Hope this article gets major major exposure…..
Good luck and thank you

Brian

April 23, 2018 at 12:24 am

Nunes needs to be put on trial.

Seth Rich is watching

April 22, 2018 at 5:34 pm

The paragraph highlighted by Taibbi also shows that Comey was purposely political and trying to effect the election results. As director of the FBI he is supposed to officially be politically neutral, why would it matter to him who was leading in the polls, let alone by how much? Comey is a liar, false in one false in all. None of his excused he confuses as reasoning makes any sense because they are all rooted in lies and self aggrandizement.

CitizenOne

April 23, 2018 at 12:33 am

Hi John,

I would like to recreate James Comey’s testimony as a classical case study in how to get your boss fired. Meticulous notes scribbled from his every meeting wit the President and leaked to the press in an attempt to get his Boss fired. All of it spun with his own colored interpretations which have no basis other than his opinion. This is the guy that everyone hated for reopening the File-Gate investigation on Hillary Clinton 11 days before a national election. This is the guy who was warned by the DOJ that reopening of the investigation would be seen as election tampering. The reopening of the investigation days before the election was a pivotal moment in discrediting Hillary Clinton days before the election. Just like WMD in Iraq, there was not evidence revealed by the FBI investigation of Weiner’s Wifes computer to corroborate leaking state secrets. The FBI had all of the emails anyway and they knew that there would be no new revelations but Comey never the less reopened the investigation against the warnings of DOJ.

When is Comey going to be on trial? When is the charade of the Witch Trial going to end? When is Trump going to be exonerated? When are we going to get off the merry go round of blaming Russia for everything we have wrought?

Democrats have largely been silent as the witch trial progresses. They support sanctions Russia in their evidence free pursuit of a phantom conspiracy they were fed by the power brokers as the best way to recapture their predicted victory. Stupid is as stupid does.

Paul Easton

April 21, 2018 at 11:16 am

Thank you Ray for clearing this path through the swamp of media disinformation. But I don’t know how the Constitutional Crisis comes in. Do you mean this is too hot for the courts to handle?

Ordinarly, I would have included more particulars in my text, but I was sure they would be headlined the the morning news Thursday morning. But somehow it “slipped by” the MSM. A “criminal referral” against Hillary Clinton and co-conspirators — and no mention? I thought I had seen it all, but …

Thanks to Joe Lauria for having the presence of mind to include the live link to the letter to DOJ from the 11 House members. I think that does enable those with, understandably lingering questions to learn what the “criminal referrals” are all about.

Ray McGovern

Sam F

April 21, 2018 at 9:46 pm

As to whether the Constitution will hold, that will be purely a matter of coincidence.
The US judiciary are 100% corrupt and will consider party affiliation alone; the rest is excuses.
If the Utah district and circuit courts go against the Reps, the Supreme Court will not.
If the lower courts support the Reps and the Dems appeal, the Supreme Court will deny certiorari.
They don’t even consider it corruption, let alone betrayal, but just business as usual with a smile.
So the Dems are in trouble, there, but the Reps may prefer to let the sleeping dog lie.
They may not want to set a precedent for prosecuting corrupt politicians; not good for business.
They would have to figure out an excuse that only applies to the specific case, or only against Dems.
If the Rep judiciary pushes Dem voters too far, they may lose votes in 2018-20.
The Constitution is just a navigational hazard for the US judiciary: they know exactly where it is, and they have no intention of going there.

Skip Scott

April 22, 2018 at 7:20 am

Sam F-

Although it is very unfortunate, I suspect your cynical viewpoint is the correct one, given the evidence.

Sam F

April 22, 2018 at 9:35 pm

Yes, actually my apparent cynicism is the result of direct observation of federal judges at all levels in five states and DC in over a dozen civil rights cases. If 30-40 judges are all completely corrupt, the exceptions must be very few. The judiciary should be completely purged, along with most law schools and bar associations. Current lawyers may do real estate transactions, if anyone trusts them, but we must have practical idealists to make the laws and judge the cases.

CitizenOne

April 21, 2018 at 9:49 am

Okay people,

Let’s ratchet down the “lock her up!” hysteria. Hillary Clinton is not Satan in human form.
Politics is an ugly, brutal business. It is possibly more corrupt than organized crime.

It has a master too.

That master is the press which as the article shows is in lock step with the marching orders from above.
Who is above that? No, it’s not HK.

The real power which guides and influences everything is money.
As we spin up into a whirlwind plutocracy where the raging twister sucks up all the wealth to the highest heights leaving a trail of disaster on the ground we will become increasingly under their control as their power and ability to influence us with their money increases.

There is much left unreported regarding the corrupt nature of our political system which in recent years has ushered in an age of dark money and corruption. In fact, “Russia-Gate” is merely a smokescreen designed to have a win-win for the money.

Win #1: Distract Americans away from the REAL reasons for election influencing which would include the SCOTUS rulings, “Citizens United vs. FEC” and “McCutcheon vs. FEC”. Blame everything on the Russians instead.

Win #2: By blaming a foreign devil nation our corporate military industrial complex gets its reason for existence a full dose of testosterone and adrenaline which drives the war machine with its trillion dollar budget.

Donald Trump is the love child of the confluence of dark money and politics. Sorry Donald but you were handed 2 billion (estimate) in free advertising by the media. See: “Les Moonves, CBS, and Trump: Is TV’s business model killing democracy?”

It was just a get rich quick scam designed to prevent any early winner in the primary run up which would cut the flow of advertising dollars. A scam designed to extract the maximum amount of cash out of fourteen dark money infused candidates and their super PACs.

Think they are gonna tell us that? Why would they? That would be giving away the secret. They never reported on the mentioned Supreme Court cases either for the same reason. They downplay the end of net neutrality for the same reason. Money.

There have been numerous attempts to introduce legislation to end the era of dark money and corruption but again it is not going to ever see the light of day outside of some room in Washington. The media simply makes too much money. It will never betray the hand that feeds it.

So while we are all being distracted by the press’s own self-proclaimed public allegations that it is a hotbed cabal of liberal socialists one can rest assured that this too is but another giant smokescreen designed to obscure your view of the inner workings of the machinery behind the facade.

Now we are entering an era where Constitutional crises crop up at every turn. The President and the Republicans are at war with the intelligence agencies because they too have been sucked into the vortex of corruption. Constant reporting of fake news such as that millions of undocumented voters tilted the election for Hillary denying Trump a landslide threaten the future of the electoral process itself which underpins our democracy.

In fact, fake news itself undermines democracy but not in the way people often think. The fake news that is most dangerous comes from our most trusted and respected national sources of journalism.

Lies like Russia started a war with Ukraine or there is an “Arab Spring” in Syria and we need to get those protesters some guns!! All designed to stoke the fires in the munitions factories and propel us toward our next military invasion.

In an earlier comment on a different post, I characterized Trump as the little dutch boy with his finger in the dam. As I see him try to extricate the US from the horrific war in Syria only to be dragged back repeatedly by the next gas attack replete with the media posting pictures of lifeless babies. (which happens every day but you just never see it on TV news. Apparently that is reserved for “special events” like false flags for war) It seems to me that Trump might be the sanest person in Washington when it comes to fending off those chomping at the bit to start WWIII.

Way to go Trump! for refusing to enact sanctions against Russia. You have my unconditional support of your right to screw as many Playboy bunnies as your sex mad heart desires as long as you fend off the crazies. Let’s at least be fair if we are going to expel diplomats and enact sanctions for nations that have engaged social media to manipulate national elections. Then we would have to put UK on the list too. They would probably move to the top of the docket in fact.

Just a final note: Does anyone find it odd that with all the kerfuffle over James Comey and his self serving testimony nobody has prosecuted him for the very real election influencing that DOJ warned him not to do which was reopening the investigation into File Gate? Perhaps with this criminal referral, he will get his day in court over the real reasons for the “hacking” of the election.

The TV business model was only able to kill democracy because of Bill Clinton’s Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allowed consolidation of ownership — monopolization of media. (Bill Clinton), and
Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2013, under Obama, which repealed the ban that had been in place since
shortly after WW2, and legalized propaganda on US citizens (Obama)

CitizenOne

April 22, 2018 at 11:03 pm

Willow,

I totally agree with the facts you present. Bill Clinton is busy these days presenting the claims of Verizon that they are being hampered by Net Neutrality which stifles their ability to provide “enhanced technology” and cripples their ability to compete in the marketplace.

The Clinton’s are no angels of the public interest. They are insider Washington power brokers serving the lobbies and the machine.

Bill Clinton also signed the banking deregulation law: “Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999” which was the precipitating factor in the collapse of the banking industry in 2008.

So Willow as you can see there is no political party who fills the watchdog regulatory function holding the reigns on the runaway stagecoach of free market capitalism.

Willow; it is not a problem associated with one party of the Government. It crosses the aisles and every one of our elected leaders voted to impose sanctions against Russia and voted unanimously for laws to prevent the President from vetoing anti Russian Congressional decisions effectively stripping the power of the President enjoyed by every previous president.

I am with you that as loose lipped and grandiose Trump is, he has steadfastly held his position of power against all of the Congress and government agencies and the main stream media calling for harsh measures against Russia.

As far as Trump’s support for the telecommunications industry, there is where we split. His support for ending net neutrality as well as his appointment of Ajit Pai and Pai’s attempts to serve Verizon speaks volumes about how he is just another Bill Clinton.

Trump is also another Reagan when it comes to Education and all forms or “social welfare”. Read that as the money the government collects in taxes from all of us.

His appointments have been singularly determined by the favored status of large corporations.

Is Trump any better or worse than other presidents? The answer is perhaps. He certainly has contemporary presidents to compare his actions against. In that light I do not see him as better or worse than recent appointments to the White House.

Put your partisan party hat down and breathe the air of the larger picture. Corruption crosses both aisles in Congress, the Judicial Branch and Executive Branch.

From what I’ve learned about domestic (contrasted with my earlier focus on bread-and-butter analysis of foreign) politics, it strikes me you have it precisely right. And thanks for the clarity with which you express it all.

Money.

I think these words of yours are especially to the point:

“… The fake news that is most dangerous comes from our most trusted and respected national sources of journalism.

“Lies like Russia started a war with Ukraine or there is an “Arab Spring” in Syria and we need to get those protesters some guns!! All designed to stoke the fires in the munitions factories and propel us toward our next military invasion.”

So….. can we take this lying down? I’d like to invoke, again, the Noah Principle: “No more awards for predicting rain; rewards only for building arks.”

Surely there is enough imagination and courage among commenters here to generate new ideas for ACTION, because, well because, “There is such a thing as ‘too late.'”

Ray McGovern

John

April 21, 2018 at 2:20 pm

We have the power. JUST DON’T GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY ANY MORE. Sounds easy enough

CitizenOne

April 23, 2018 at 12:07 am

Hi John,

Sorry to inform you that a simple solution like, “JUST DON’T GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY ANYMORE” may sound like a solution to the problem but then you would be ignorant of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United vs. FEC and McCutcheon vs. FEC which granted anonymous and unlimited political donations for corporations and wealthy individuals. Your money and my money doesn’t count for spit. These elected “leaders” wage hugely expensive campaigns in which they spend the majority of their time wooing big money donors promising they will deliver the latest deregulation initiative and the latest tax breaks for the wealthy. In turn the politicians are lavished with unlimited money protected as “free speech” by the laws of the land in a usurpation of democracy the likes of which we have not seen since the era of The Robber Barrons.

If you think for one instant that withholding your contributions to a given political party will “solve” the problems we face then you are just checking out.

Save your money and stuff it under your mattress or donate to your fullest ability. Either action will not change anything as long as wealthy individuals can contribute millions of dollars.

The problem is not a democratic problem or a republican problem. The problem is a money problem where your vote no longer counts amidst a flood of dark money that will direct the next election and beyond.

CitizenOne

April 22, 2018 at 10:19 pm

Thanks Ray,

Recognition by you is an honor and I thank you for taking the time to read my post.

I have read your VIPS memos and articles for a long time and likewise you seem to hit every point in your analysis of the current upside down government. We are indeed at a pinnacle of power and influence and the entire World is anxiously awaiting for America to wake from its conservative led mission to Hell. The bellicose rhetoric coming from every corner and the complete usurpation of our democracy by the money powers shows what their new and older than old profit motive and business model is going forward. That business model is Perma-War. Endless military invasions, coups and manipulation of the news to gain the support of the American people to go to war over and over again.

We have turned chasing democracy and freedom from attacking anti-communist global communism to a new world order where any nation that is not aligned with western capitalist ideology and Christianity is an enemy (unless they have nukes) to be dealt with by military force (war).

It seems incredible to me that we have so thoroughly discredited the UIN that we look past the negotiated disarmament treaties in Iraq and Iran and choose to break these deals in favor of war. How will any nation not be convinced that the only way to negotiate real peace needs a credible nuclear option like Pakistan to not be on “the hit list”. Do we not understand that pulling the plug on Iran will cause them to accelerate their nuclear programs and invite war? Based on what? That it is a “terrible deal”? These are the only words used to describe it. Where is the analysis? Where is the reporting detailing just what is so horrible about a UN plan to verify through detailed inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities to make sure they are not building nuclear weapons. It strikes me that they stand to make a great deal more money without the harsh sanctions on their oil exports rather than suffer economically building WMDs. These agreements were also won by the UN with Iraq only to be discredited and then conflated with 9/11 by our ministry of propaganda and used as a justification to attack them based on a pack of lies that they held stockpiles of WMD which were never found or more notably never used against US troops as they invaded and deposed a sitting government. As you have previously stated this is about the last thing or rather the first thing a government equipped with the means to gas his enemy as they lay siege at the gates of the capital would employ if only Iraq had them.

So the message we have sent to every tin pot dictator is clear. Disarm and follow the UN path to an uncertain future and face the inevitable shock and awe of an unfettered US military invasion or pursue a course such as North Korea or Pakistan (they greased it) and secretly develop a nuclear arsenal.

This leads me to the next conclusion. That is that the US is developing strategies to defeat a nuclear armed opponent. It began wit Reagan and Star Wars and continues to this day with THAAD missile defenses being deployed in South Korea and in the EU. This is not a purely defense strategy to stop nuclear attacks on home soil but a protective shield with which to wage preemptive nuclear war with THAAD assurances that any retaliatory measures can be suppressed by our “defensive” capability to shoot down any incoming nukes.

We have seen the naked aggression of the US toward other countries that were not equipped to create a credible nuclear deterrent. Now it seems we are going after those nations too by developing a highly improbable but publicly exulted anti missile defense strategy designed to allow us to attack those nations equipped with nuclear weapons just like we attacked nations without nuclear capability.

When will Americans wake up and see that there government is not dedicated to promoting peace and democracy but is instead hell bent on creating an arms race where the most sophisticated nations with the most advanced technology vie for the power to attack freely without the credible threat of a retaliatory response ensuring “victory” over our “enemies”

This sad old song is as old as history. Only a fool would fail to to recognize the instincts of our species to continually purpose itself to fight “the enemy”, conquer a foreign land and kill the leaders along with a whole bunch of innocent humans caught in the conflict. Research the 500,000 dead in Syria and the millions of refugees there for confirmation of this dark intent.

Here we are like ancient Rome subduing the heathens with modern weaponry which wreaks horrific suffering and death upon millions of people in the name of democracy and freedom. How is it different from Juan Ponce De Leon as he murdered in the name of Christ? How is it different from the Monroe Doctrine and Gunboat diplomacy where we framed Spain for blowing up the USS Maine (they didn’t) and used it as pretext for war in Puerto Rica, Cuba, Guam and The Philippines.

We had a shining moment in military conquest during that war. We gained much territory and it is arguably the biggest bans for the buck in US military history. Was it fair and honest? No. Was it driven by propaganda? Yes. But we cannot continue to see the Planet as just one big piggy bank to be plundered.

The deal has changed and I’m not sure these old farts have reckoned the consequences of a new “Spanish War” with Russia or Iran. God help us if they think they can ride roughshod over these nations.

Seth Rich is watching

April 22, 2018 at 5:42 pm

No one said Hillary is Satan, she is the bride of Satan. There is a Clinton body count for a reason, well over 100 people have died unnaturally in their wake, who else has that who don’t run a mob? Most of them I could care less about such as Vince Foster or Ron Brown ( lie down with dogs you pick up fleas) but kids like Kevin Ivey and Don Henry were just kids when the Clinton’s had then offed.

Why would Donna Brazile hid out in her office with the blinds drawn in daylight if she believed low level staffer Seth Rich whom she barely knew had been killed in a robbery as the police said? Why would Joe Biden who wanted to run admit that the Clintons would ‘destroy’ him? Sorry your goddess is not a run of the mill politician nor does she worry about what the press says. Remember the first thing she did as first lady was demand that the FBI hand over dossiers on everyone in Congress and they complied. Do you think she stopped there. Keep dreaming.

CitizenOne

April 22, 2018 at 11:19 pm

If Hillary is the Bride of Satan then Bill Clinton is Satan. Either way I disagree. These politicians are just part of The Machine. It is a ubiquitous and omnipresent machine that dictates marching orders to whoever happens to have risen to national prominence. You can conclude that without the backing of the power brokers in Washington no politician stands a chance in Hell of being elected.

Time to stop singling out one party or the other or this politician or that one. They are all paid to follow the script of their masters.

It is the one thing I find refreshing about Trump. He is a man unto himself unlike any president we have had before. Corporate love child and media darling Trump elected with stolen money from the power brokers reacts to the fake news that got him elected and continues to battle the fake news that surrounds him.

As the Democrats and The MSM try to recreate a Monica Lewinsky impeachment with unproven allegations of “collusion” with Russia, they are recreating the disastrous fake news reporting which sucked our Nation into a black hole of endless investigations into the Clinton presidency.

Some will say that this just “sauce for the goose”. But it is really the intolerance for any president like the Bush’s who are not aligned with the insider Washington group think which is by now the most powerful force on the Planet.

Sorry you missed the link to all that; it was embedded in one of the early paragraphs: the one that starts with “The 11 House members chose …..” Just click on the word “letter” and you’ll find the House letter there.

Thanks for asking; others seem to have missed it too…..and STILL no word about it in the NYT or WaPo or WSJ. Pretty amazin’!

Ray

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 3:19 pm

I had a fantasy where Trump dies. And I thought great! But then I thought of Pence. Uh oh! Then I thought, it’s just a fantasy, so he happens to die too. Good. But wait a minute, who’s next? To make a long story short, my fantasy morphed to what if the whole damned gang in DC should just happen to croak? At that point I realized that many of the people of America……and indeed in the world needed to leave……..and I woke up and decided that my fantasy said things about me that I prefer not to cultivate……….

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 2:58 pm

Pointing the finger at Hillary and her gang sure got things stirred up! When I lived in Chicago, and it got really hot in the summer, the cockroaches – who had been there in hiding all along – would come swarming out for a breath of air.

Paul G.

April 21, 2018 at 11:10 am

Excellent metaphor, I have had extensive unpleasant encounters with cockroaches. These people are parasites which feed on the body politic and the public spreading disease and filth.

Drew Hunkins

April 20, 2018 at 2:34 pm

Don’t look now but the DNC just made an obvious attempt to get out in front of this story and preempt it by filing a lawsuit — which is getting saturation coverage in the establishment corporate press — against Wikileaks, the “Russian gov’t”, and the Trump campaign.

The DNC is arguably the most insidious and duplicitous organization in the world today.

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 2:48 pm

But let’s remember that the republicans are just as bad, and the deep state actors that run both parties are worse than both of them put together.

Seth Rich is watching

April 22, 2018 at 5:45 pm

That’s why they both hate Trump. They are both afraid of him exposing their little game of pillage the Americans of all their wealth while they bait the sheeple with the left / right game.

Chumpsky

April 20, 2018 at 7:33 pm

The DNC has a folio of potential lawsuits available to whip out when needed to manipulate press’ attention. I think it is safe to say it is a false flag lawsuit, which will be readily thrown out as frivolous. Now is the time for Sessions to show his mettle by taking the bull by the horns…

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 7:46 pm

Case in point: For decades the DNC and Democrat party played Blacks for suckers to get their votes then proceeded to do NOTHING for them. Now it appears Black voters are getting hip to the Democrats game so now Latinos are getting their turn to be suckered for shallow votes.

I hope they wise up quicker than Black voters did.

The DNC should be brought to justice under the RICO statutes. Because that is all the party really is: A criminal enterprise.

Jane Christ

April 21, 2018 at 7:38 am

I agree.

Anon

April 21, 2018 at 9:13 pm

Very likely, but it is much easier to investigate the Repubs for RICO violations, because they believe bribery is normal business and do less to conceal it. In Florida they would laugh at the idea that bribery is either unusual or criminal. What else is there?

Bart Hansen

April 20, 2018 at 9:05 pm

Will this DNC lawsuit force the NSA to comment on whether Russia hacked into the DNC?

Since the Seth Rich murder remains open, what will happen to that investigation?

So much for the press. They think they can propel Hillary into the Whitehouse once more through conniving and probably pay offs from the corrupt Clinton Foundation. Corruption has many shades and origins.

Paul G.

April 21, 2018 at 11:11 am

Sorry CIA still has the prize in that category; but DNC is right up there. They do peak out at the top for stupidity as they are shooting themselves in their proverbial feet.

Strngr - Tgthr

April 20, 2018 at 1:02 pm

The FBI & CIA were just trying to protect the country from Presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders and Trump who would wreck the country. Hillary was the most experienced candidate ever to run for President – look at her resume: First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State. When you have trust in the America people / voter, look what you get, Trump! That is Democracy for you! This was why the CIA, NSA & FBI built in an insurance policy against Trump. So, now we have 11 lunatic members of the House of Representatives (who will only be there two years) from illiterate Red States with brainwashed people, who want access to our most treasured secrets! Not a chance!!! These people should review the words of Chuck Schumer before they go any farther:

“Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday to get back at you. So, even for a practical, supposedly hard-nosed businessman, he is being really dumb to do this,” Schumer said in a Jan. 3 MSNBC interview.

Asked what intel officials could do to Trump, Schumer said, “I don’t know, but from what I am told, they are very upset with how he has treated them and talked about them,”…

And there are only ELEVEN of them! Easy enough fools! The only mistake Hillary made was to accept becoming Secretary of State and not CIA Director. If she were CIA Director she would have been at the center of everything and know everything so there would have been no chance for PUTIN and the FSB to hijack our election or even to do all of that campaign research. She would have known everything all along and been ready for Trump in the debates with the exact facts. But she tried to be fair and play nice, and this is what she got: DONALD TRUMP!!! Another example of nice gals finishing last!!!

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 2:46 pm

All these factions within the US government are insignificant compared to the operations of real power – the deep state. If we lose sight of the oligarchs behind the happenings of the times, we will be playing the shadow games that distract us from the real enemies of humankind. The wealthy and powerful are systematically destroying everything worth living for, and are on course to destroy all human life on our planet. While we play with shadow figures of demos and repubs, etc. the real powers are busy dismantling what little freedom remains to us indentured citizens of dystopia.

Paul Easton

April 21, 2018 at 12:22 am

Thank you Mike. If you want to understand events you need to follow the money. Our politics is a shadow play.

MA

April 21, 2018 at 7:34 am

“The wealthy and powerful are systematically destroying everything worth living for, and are on course to destroy all human life on our planet.”

If the above is true that means those wealthy and powerful will also get destroyed. Are they so stupid they don’t realise this? And if they are, then how come they are in that powerful position?

Brad Owen

April 21, 2018 at 11:06 am

Don’t confuse cunning, careful calculation, and ruthlessness with wisdom. Whom the gods would destroy They first make mad with power, (thus throwing off their ability to calculate how to dodge what’s coming).

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 2:52 pm

The Trumpies are flashing their true colors on CN. Fascinating. Inevitable.

Seth Rich is watching

April 22, 2018 at 5:52 pm

There are no Trumpies, there are only 2 types of people, those those hate Hillary and Hillary.

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 3:25 pm

Hillary would love you calling her a nice girl – the better to cut your heart out and feed it to the dogs.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 7:55 pm

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton has NEVER played “fair” or “nice”. Just ask Bill Clinton’s sexual victims of molestation and RAPE. Ask the people of Libya. The list goes on and on and on.

Progressive voters like me voted for Trump not for any respect or adoration of him and his BS campaign promises. We did it because we loathed her and all her un-indicted crimes.

She may never see a day behind bars for her crimes and lies, but she for sure will NEVER reach her dream of becoming President of the United States and for this I cheer!

Seth Rich is watching

April 22, 2018 at 5:51 pm

She was so prepared she had to have Donna Brazile steal debate questions ahead of time. She is so prepared that she demands having all question ahead of time for any interview, that’s why she went ape-shit after the Matt Lauer interview. What did she ever accomplish in any of these positions? Nothing, except accruing power and information over others to exploit for her own benefit. Hillary and Schumer, lol, if they’re so smart and Trump so dumb, how did Trump beat them so badly? Hint, it had nothing to do with Russia, it had everything to do with Hillary and all of her faults.

Concerened citizen

April 22, 2018 at 10:48 pm

Nice try. Do you actually read real news?. (Independent / non-corporate news). Not a Trump supporter but I do support non criminal legislators, of which there are few from both parties. Ron Paul was a good example along with Tusi Gabbard(D\ hawaii) to name a couple. Clinton had experience to be sure. Criminal, imperialist, deep state facilitator type credentials. I don!t intend to insult but come on! Regardless, people are awakining at an ever increasing pace because the truth carries with it a weight that no lie can counterfeit. We are on the precipice of great change. Many will suffer due to western arrogance but change is coming. The question is, will our psychopathic administrators destroy us in the process? I have hope. Positive signs are emerging i.e. Tucker Carlson, Senator Black, Roger Waters etc.. questioning Syria narrative. Talking to people(friends and strangers) face to face are seeing things for what they are, lies & propaganda no matter the party. Have no fear, study indep. media and comment on what you can verify not what cnn, msnbc etc… reports (they are pr firms for defence ind., big pharma etc…) Not reping our interests.

mike

April 20, 2018 at 12:26 pm

I am sitting at my desk, reading this story, and at 12:15 EST, this pops up in my inbox:

“The Democratic National Committee sued the Trump campaign, the Russian government, Wikileaks on Friday, accusing them of conspiring to disrupt the 2016 presidential election.

President Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner are among the defendants.

The DNC says Russia found a “willing and active partner” in the Trump campaign to attack American democracy and defeat Hillary Clinton.”

Apparently, Hillary’s long track record in American politics and the strategies she employed in her campaign had absolutely nothing to do with the election results. These are more rantings of a deranged mind and an abuse of the American legal system. More fodder for Rachel Maddow to rant “RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA” for five days out of every week. If she “wins,” perhaps the compensation will be Putin has to officially recognise her as Empress of the World… and pay her a quintillion quatloos.

backwardsevolution

April 20, 2018 at 5:11 pm

Realist – Hillary and the Democrats are getting out ahead of the charges that are undoubtedly coming their way from the House Intelligence Committee. Nunes, Gowdy and the Inspector General must have some good stuff, otherwise they would not be bringing this suit.

I think this whole Russiagate business has been a desperate attempt to smear the very people who are looking into your corruption before they can smear you. When Hillary lost, their thinking must have been: “Oh, my God, if they find out what we’ve done, we are in serious trouble. We’ll have to get out front and accuse them before they find the evidence.”

ellen olenska

April 20, 2018 at 7:28 pm

I recall an expose from one of Hillary’s staffers. Evidently she had a vile temper and blew up at her staff daily, ergo they were never permitted to have cell phones in her presence, lest any of them capture her tirades. They got reported all the same. The one I remember was this ” If we don’t win this thing we are all going to hang”. She knew she had broken the law a thousand times over – against Bernie Sanders, via using her DOS position to secure bribe money for the family foundation, and wholly against the democratic process. This lawsuit is a hail mary pass to avoid prosecution. I can only hope her suit is laughed out of court and she ends up in prison

F.G. sums it up nicely. This is worse than Watergate. The years since then have allowed a myriad of tricks for political and media manipulation. The scale of corruption is absolutely staggering in our vaunted land of “democracy”. The head spins at the sheer volume of sordid deeds committed by misleaders with our tax dollars. Two parties only is a formula for failed governance.

I never listen to Amy Goodman now, totally discount MSNBC, and watch only Tucker Carlson and limited Hannity. I used to discount Fox completely in the Bush and Obama years. We live in an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole now.

I, too, don’t like disrupting the consecutive placing of posts by CN. And what’s with the assigned graphic one-color mandala each individual poster gets? Is that CN or Google at work, marking us for NSA records?

Zachary Smith

April 20, 2018 at 11:06 am

The changes in the posting order seem so striking because of their novelty – we were all used to the other way. Already I’m adapting, and within another couple of weeks I’ll have almost forgotten the “old” system.

Somebody has pointed out that the new individualized “identifiers” will serve to protect us from copycats. Any wannabe imitator would have to know our email address to pull such a stunt now.

Zachary Smith

April 20, 2018 at 11:09 am

Hey, just now noticed we’re the same shade of “red”. Hopefully Homeland Security won’t take that as “evidence” we’re both Russian Trolls.

:D

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 3:06 pm

I still find it confusing and inefficient to read the comments from bottom to top, before making mine. What was wrong with the previous format/ Are we stuck with this why? Cui bono? Is there a human moderator anywhere we can discuss this with, or are we in thrall to a human digesting machine?

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:01 pm

Same here. The only network “news” I watch now is Tucker Carlson. Even Jimmy Dore did a show giving Carlson credit for questioning the rush to bomb Syria prior to any investigation being completed.

Peppermint

April 20, 2018 at 8:41 am

Comey’s memos have been released and are not heavily redacted. Now what, Mr. McGovern? That’s a genuine question to be answered.

Sulphurdunn

April 20, 2018 at 8:34 am

You guys are starting to sound like Sean Hannity without the shrill hyperbole. If this is true then both political parties, our mass media, and the appointed, upper echelons of our federal bureaucracy are irredeemably corrupt.

backwardsevolution

April 20, 2018 at 5:14 pm

Sulphurdunn – this is exactly the case, corruption at the top.

Peppermint

April 20, 2018 at 8:29 am

We don’t have a functioning democracy. Haven’t for a long time. My faith in institutions and those with “authority “ is zilch. And that includes Nunes who portrays himself as some kind of virtuous favt finder. If any of us really knew how this country operates we’d need personal defibrillators.

This country is either on course to wake up or it’s goin’ down. Time will tell. Maybe climate change will be helpful in that regard since we’re collectively fiddling while Rome burns.

DaveJoe

April 20, 2018 at 8:08 am

Sadly, “Amy Goodman’s non-mainstream DemocracyNow!” has long sod out. It now promotes the White Helmets.

Bob Van Noy

April 20, 2018 at 8:28 am

DaveJoe, some day a brilliant writer will tell the real story of Cord Meyer, his beautiful wife Mary, and their children. Of how they were dreamers and what happened to their dreams. It will read like the best fiction ever produced, it will include high drama, it will be nearly heart breaking drama, and it will be nonfiction. The best kind. I’ll include a link…

“The activities were hardly considered high-risk, because candidate Clinton was sure to win.”

However, this is why H.R.C. ‘lost’?
“And it’s deadly. Doubtless, Crosscheck delivered Michigan to Trump who supposedly “won” the state by 10,700 votes. The Secretary of State’s office proudly told me that they were “very aggressive” in removing listed voters before the 2016 election. Kobach, who created the lists for his fellow GOP officials, tagged a whopping 417,147 in Michigan as potential double voters.”http://www.gregpalast.com/trump-picks-al-capone-vote-rigging-investigate-federal-voter-fraud/

Strngr - Tgthr

April 20, 2018 at 2:03 pm

Thanks for this. It is simple, the Republicans don’t want to honor the honor system. All that should be required to vote is just show up at the poles and cast your ballot, that is how Democracy works. Just because Republicans don’t trust the voters does not mean that we have to. We appreciate ALL voters!!! Stronger Together!

backwardsevolution

April 20, 2018 at 5:17 pm

Strngr – Tgthr – with thinking like that, it’s no wonder the country is swirling the drain.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:12 pm

Had 200,000 NYC voters not been illegally purged from the voting rolls Sanders may have actually won the New York primary! This lawsuit is still pending!

I don’t believe Clinton won the California primary either! Considering that Clinton was literally running the DNC, I truly think Sanders would have won the nomination fair and square, especially had there been no “bought and paid for” Superdelegates” in Clinton’s back pantsuit pocket prior to one vote being cast in any primary.

Every poll I saw said Sanders would have beaten Trump by ten points or more in the general election.

There is only ONE person to blame for us having Trump as president and that is the corrupt thug, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.

Anon

April 21, 2018 at 9:24 pm

Don’t forget her top ten campaign donors, all zionists, and her major foundation donors, the Saudis.
They will support the next identity candidate Sanders, who can’t get around to telling us his Mideast policy.

andy--s

April 20, 2018 at 4:12 am

Please check into Sundance’s work. extensive coverage of every angle.

Unbelieveable details in the articles published since january. Unbelieveable !

Sean Hannity on Fox is really about the only one consistently following this corruption. It involves the FISA Court, the fact that they all knew the Steele dossier was phony from the get-go, the fact that they never told the FISA Court judge that Hillary Clinton’s campaign paid for the Steele dossier, unmasking of names, leaking confidential information, Hillary Clinton’s email exoneration, Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton on the Arizona tarmac, pay for play re the Clinton Foundation…on and on.

It also involves Uranium One where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama okay’d the sale of 20% of U.S. uranium to Russians. Shortly before the deal was closed, millions of dollars found their way into the Clinton Foundation AND Bill Clinton was paid $500,000.00 for his speech in Russia. There’s also $145 million missing from the Clinton Foundation (the books don’t jive).

She was using a private email to get around Freedom of Information requests. Had she used the government server, there would have been a back-up of everything. So even if she had deleted her emails, the government would still have a copy. This way, she was able to take money from foreign governments and no one would be the wiser.

This whole Russiagate affair has been, in my opinion, a diversion away from their corruption. You know, accuse someone else in order to take the heat off yourself. It’s also been an attempted coup on a duly-elected President. The media, the Democrats and some Republicans are desperately trying to find anything to impeach Trump on. It has been a witch hunt from the start.

Realist

April 20, 2018 at 9:54 am

Besides being distinctly uncharitable and possibly intrinsically evil, all the gratuitous attacks on Trump by minions of the empire run a very real risk of goading the man into committing this country to a major war from which it cannot easily extricate itself. If you ask me, over half a million Syrian lives thus far extinguished and countless made homeless so some fat cats can build a pipeline is not a fair trade. How many ever American (and Russian) lives might be lost in a nuclear exchange that may come from the runaway escalation of the conflict is most definitely not satisfactory in my humble opinion.

will

April 20, 2018 at 11:20 pm

So Sean Hannity is your go to for new investigative reportage? above McGovern speaks of Devin Nunes as if he were credible, and no one seems to care about the evidence piling up around Trumpkin and his lawyer. This place has truly jumped the shark….and that shark appears to be named infowars, lol.

Realist

April 20, 2018 at 3:00 am

I’m glad I never gave a moment’s thought to establishing a career in the law. Law enforcement has transformed into strong-arm thuggery and court proceedings have become an exercise in twisted logic. The odd man out has clearly been the constitution, publicly ridiculed as “just a damned piece of paper” by one of our recent presidents not noted for an astute intellect (guess who?).

Case in point, the ever popular game of “hunting the president.” Back in the early seventies, when Hillary was making her bones on the staff of the congressional committee then impeaching Richard Nixon, it was like pulling teeth to extract evidence against Tricky Dick, especially getting hold of those infamous tapes which were known to exist. Much of the high court’s time was dedicated to ensuring that the people could access this evidence while still protecting the constitutional rights of the scandal-tainted president. If you are of a certain age, you can’t forget the daily legal wrangling and high drama in the Court, the Congress and the White House, including a so-called Saturday Night Massacre. That was a no holds barred cage match between equally-matched adversaries, until the end finally came as quickly for Nixon as it later did for Saigon.

Preceding the roses and rainbows generated in the waning Reagan years due to his sudden cancellation of the Cold War in cooperation with Gorbachev, the Gipper’s minions had engaged in several solid years of murderous war crimes in Centro America and in collusion with the Iranian government with whom we were supposed to be very cross–illegally selling them arms, delivering surprise birthday cakes and such. These capers were folded into the “Iran-Contra” hearings in the U.S.Congress which divulged so much incriminating evidence that the process came within a whisker of seeing the guy who ended the Cold War actually impeached. Word had it that, in the end, they gave him the courtesy of a pass because of his Alzheimer’s disease, whether real or feigned. Those Confederate generals cast in bronze were given an easier entrée to the ages… until last year when monster hunting came back into fashion. Washington, Jefferson and Jackson have been warned.

Bushdaddy next came close to indictment for war crimes but was let go because he adroitly pardoned Casper Weinberger, Elliott Abrams and some other inside muckety-mucks just before his term ended in 1993, leaving the case without any of its key witnesses for the prosecution. As you can see, the constitution was either working flawlessly to protect the accused, or the guilty were playing it like a violin to get away with murder.

With the earliest emergence of social media and a politicized mainstream media, it became increasingly easy to take pot shots at Slick Willy, though Mr. Clinton still had some outspoken Republicans, like Arlen Specter, defending his constitutional rights against those embarrassing charges of high crimes (bj’s) and misdemeanors (prevarications). In the end, it again came down to not what you did, but who you knew and how your counsel could massage the facts before the public in a thoroughly invested media, without the slightest pretense of impartiality. Votes were decided on the basis of optics rather than principles. Willy should have won a Nobel Prize for literature with that silver tongue (I’m talking about how the words so eloquently rolled off it).

Now, when Herr Müller wants a damning piece of evidence against Trump–absolutely ANY will do whether related to his designated task to see if there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian national government or not–he simply has the FBI kick in the president’s lawyer’s door and seize every piece of information, both digital and hard copy, in the guy’s office. Alan Dershowitz, a lawyer of some repute (in spite of the OJ farce), has opined that this is a blatant violation of the U.S. constitution, specifically an affront against the 4th and 5th amendments of that document, which it seems to be to a simple rube without a JD such as myself.

How does it sit with you, dear readers, to know that the whole world may suddenly blow up because two political factions without a dime’s worth of difference between them in terms of values or policies may egg on to world war a man, miraculously and completely unexpectedly elected to the oval office, who is clearly unstable, ill-prepared for the responsibilities of office and overwhelmed by the attacks he is taking from both major parties, neither of whom represent the interests of the majority of the American people. Is this our constitution succeeding, failing or just plain out of sight?

Bob Van Noy

April 20, 2018 at 7:54 am

Realist, excellent run-down, I suspect that you’ve written it before. To answer your question, not well, and for nearly a life-time it hasn’t been well, but I’ve always counted on a proper conclusion.
Of all the well earned skepticism, about our failed institutions there is still one bright spot and that is the nearly magic performance Within the jury room…. To the extent that our vaunted system has failed the common people, it is the one area where justice can still happen. Not that it does but it can.
One gets the same glitter of Justice and Truth right here in broad open, unfettered discussion. One can imagine the possibilities; something to hold on to, something to pursue…

Realist

April 20, 2018 at 9:22 am

Nearly everything I write here is just spontaneous, stream of consciousness. Not outlined or planned at all. These experiences in life just stick with a person and they naturally emerge if relevant. Perhaps having written many dozens of scientific articles and lecturing every day during my career helped me maintain an organised mind.

backwardsevolution

April 20, 2018 at 8:54 am

Realist – great rant. Heard this the other day: “Do you know what a Constitutional crisis is? It’s when an unelected and largely unaccountable band of hyper-partisan attorneys, loyal to the previous president and maybe even Hillary Clinton, are able to spend millions of your tax dollars in search of a crime, merely to undo the results of a presidential election.”

As you said, absolutely any piece of evidence will do. This theft of privileged information shows the desperation of Mueller’s team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his actions aren’t being just a little bit influenced by the Nunes/Gowdy/Inspector General investigations. Perhaps Mueller is feeling the heat and getting instructions to get something – anything – on Trump before this Nunes thing blows up in their faces.

It is disgusting what they did to Trump’s lawyer, Trump and the country. Put it through the shredder!

The whole country is divided, and “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

There is a quiet civil war a-brewing.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:19 pm

Apparently The Constitution is being IGNORED. The United States looks more and more like a Banana Republic dictatorship with every passing day.

tpmco

April 21, 2018 at 8:27 pm

A nation with big, big guns and lots of them. And a few nasty people predisposed to use them.

It was Morning with Mika and Joe. They were piously running the show.
Pompous and preening, a touch overweening,
Their guest had a “scoop” to bestow.
Insiders knew details lubricious. Particulars would prove delicious!
But the stuff’s classified so it can’t be supplied,
The appearance would seem quite seditious!
They’d rely on anonymous sources. And serve it in nutritious courses.
It would seem to be real thanks to Christopher Steele,
Every lurid detail reinforces!
But how could they sell the illusion? They’d have to create a delusion!
It’s not so complex, they’d just throw in some sex,
Russian hookers would prove the collusion!
Eddie Snowden was now Putin’s guest. The connection was easily stressed.
With the DNC leaks, they could blame Russian geeks,
It was done at the Kremlin’s behest!
A Lawn Guyland native we learn, Ended up with computer heartburn.
Some Pakistan brothers scammed Congress and others,
But there seems to be little concern.
After terabytes they had downloaded, Debbie’s confidence wasn’t eroded.
She kept them employed, With the perks they enjoyed,
Seems there’s more here that should be decoded!
The star witness is Evelyn Farkas. Even Brennan could end up a carcass.
“If the Trump folks found out”, She exclaimed with a pout,
If they knew how we knew it would mark us!
Mika was duly impressed. She could see that Ms. Farkas was stressed!
The fate of the nation could be ruination,
If this Russian collusion progressed!
It was quite a stunning confession. It revealed a tendentious obsession.
The Clinton defeat rendered treason discreet,
And, it justified any transgression.
It’s a moral disgrace, and they flout it. It’s a derelict state that won’t out it.
High crimes and offenses, but nothing commences.
Is a trial at hand? Well, I doubt it.
There’d be dozens of crooks in the dock. And more than one head on the block.
If it ever unravels the hammering gavels
Will adjourn with each new crook to squawk.
To save their own skins, they’ll infer. The secrets they know will deter.
The sins that they hide extend so far and wide,
It’s most likely the courts will demur.

I’m guessing that Hillary has trump cards – no pun intended – that the average citizen would never contemplate. We’ll see. There hasn’t been anything this potentially engaging since the Watergate hearings. But having watched those, I’m pretty sure they never got to the bottom of that scam either.

Bob Van Noy

April 20, 2018 at 7:38 am

F. G. Sanford, always excellent. I guess I’m an optimist, though I’m told not, but I’m hoping this is the beginning of the end…

In my opinion this referral is GOP pre election ploy to get votes since their polls collapsed.
Hillary and gang may sleep soundly nothing will happen to them but may be some bruised egos.
Oligarchy who supports them is firmly in charge. No global war or evolution is coming anytime soon.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 9:31 pm

Kalen – Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy on the House Intelligence Committee have been working on this since August of 2016, and they’ve had to go so far as getting subpoenas. Even when they’ve used subpoenas, they’ve been stymied by documents being heavily redacted. When they ask again for the documents to be unredacted, they get maybe ONE more name revealed. It’s back and forth, and now Nunes is wanting to charge them, as a final appeal, with Contempt of Congress. Who is in charge? Congress or the FBI and Department of Justice? Why are they hiding this material?

Japan was looking pretty good too before they had their tsunami. Things can change quickly. They’re just starting to heat up now.

Kalen

April 20, 2018 at 12:57 pm

Congress is in hands of CIA and FBI, they will do nothing to dismantle those two organizations that commited already treason as HOOVER was doing during his entire untouchable tenure, trying to dislodge this flaccid clown of oligarchy, only were stopped by Wall Street bribed by his abolition of tax for rich and creating money making market volatility with his trade war tirade and blowing up budged deficit to finance MIC and banksters profits.

Zachary Smith

April 19, 2018 at 7:27 pm

I have no idea what the indictments are about and Ray’s article was no help in figuring it out.

It appears to me we’re in the same boat. My personal explanation is that these eleven rightwingnuts are doing the political equivalent of Faith Testimony in a church – they’re “testifying” as to their devotion to Donald Trump. Presumably this will help them in 2018.

I’ll admit I could be quite wrong, for in my lifetime there has been a Stolen Presidency (thanks, Supreme 5) and a stolen Supreme Court seat. In a way the latter was more amazing, for it didn’t seem to bother anybody that the POS from Kentucky Mitch M. just did it.

Zachary Smith

April 19, 2018 at 7:30 pm

*Sigh*

This post was supposed to be a reply to ranney, but I fouled up and posted with the wrong browser, one which dumps everything to the end of the column.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 9:38 pm

Zachary – “It appears to me we’re in the same boat. My personal explanation is that these eleven rightwingnuts are doing…”

What exactly are they doing, Zachary?

You’ve admitted you don’t even know, but somehow, without finding out the facts, you are content to call these people “rightwingnuts” who are just trying to win an election? Really?

They’ve been working on this since August of 2016. Maybe the question you should be asking is: why haven’t the media been all over this? Why have the media been concentrating on Trump’s so-called collusion with Russia (which has produced no evidence) while this corruption has been hiding in plain view?

You are being lied to and you don’t even know it.

Bill Jones

April 20, 2018 at 8:16 pm

Agree.
Zachery is the typical thick as pigshit true believer.

Abby

April 20, 2018 at 1:33 am

Nunes and other members of congress want to see the information about how they were able to get the FISA warrant to wiretap Trump during the election. The story kept changing from they got it because of the information in the Steele dossier, because they had been investigating another person previously or some other reason.

That Hillary, the DNC and the FBI were trying to get “dirt” on Trump to use against him so that she could win the election should be a bigger scandal than Watergate. IMO.

There has been so much information about what took place during the election it’s hard to keep track of it.

Abby

April 20, 2018 at 2:31 am

Zachary, here is an earlier post by Ray that might help shed more light on what he’s talking about. In this essay, he says that blaming Russia for the DNC computer hack was made up 3 days before the DP convention and it was done to defer the media from talking about how they rigged the primary against Bernie. This is how Russia Gate got its start. Hope this helps.

It’s a dark world we enter if the DOJ is to prosecute these people, I can’t believe Deep State can have that.

Yes, the recent behavior of Amy Goodman and Democracy Now have led me to wonder if somebody bought them too. Ms. Goodman is legendary for going after President Clinton with the kitchen sink in a phone interview, so the silence is puzzling (she really let him have it, and he was pissed).

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 9:42 pm

jsinton – “It’s a dark world we enter if the DOJ is to prosecute these people…”

The top echelon of the DOJ is complicit in this affair, along with the FBI, the Statement Department, most probably the CIA (Brennan) and Clapper too. I think this is why they’ve gone after Trump so hard; they are trying to hide this from the American public. It’s not working, as the corruption is slowly seeping up to the surface now.

LarcoMarco

April 19, 2018 at 6:44 pm

CBS national radio has stated (via KCBS) that ex-FBI McCabe likely faces prosecution. Comey has pledged to testify on McC’s behalf.

We must know the truth, and all need to be held accountable for their actions, no matter what party.

Robert Emmett

April 19, 2018 at 5:56 pm

Oh, 4th estate, when it counts most, why do you take the 5th? Could it be mere coincidence? Or are you in on the hi-jinks? Comey, what a putz face. Why would anyone continue to listen anymore to these phony baloneys of the revolving door or to the lying corporate press and their trumped-up mess? Shun all frumious Bandersnatches! It’s a showstopper when they blurt a truth that comes back around to bite them on the ass and expose their fetid lies. Snakes devouring their own tales (ha), that’s their sign, and not the benign kind. Oh, when will they disappear into their own gorges? Kudos, again, to the 5th Estate and CN in particular on this story. Some of us are paying attention! Serious question: if they will lie you into an illegal, by definition, mass murdering war or three, what won’t they do for their Judas spree? Now we’ll see. Who will stand-up for justice and the interests of the common people to hold the powerful accountable? And who won’t? “There’s a crack, a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.” (L. Cohen)
For an even more compelling globalist case, read Ramsy Baroud’s piece about Media Cover-up today on Counterpunch.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:41 pm

Jimmy Dore and Lionel Nation are telling the hard truth every day on YouTube. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to both and mark the bell so you get notifications when they drop videos. Lionel does a livestream with a chat every day at noon EST. He has 30 years in broadcasting and is an experienced lawyer/prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer.

ranney

April 19, 2018 at 5:19 pm

Although I’m an avid reader of Consortium, I guess I don’t qualify as someone who needs no explanation for what happens in D.C. I have NO idea what this indictment is about, and Ray (who I dearly love and always read with pleasure) does not give even a hint of what it’s about. I went back and re-read the opening paragraphs thinking I may have missed some important clue, but I could find nothing that gave me any explanation for why all these important people at DOJ should be indicted. Next I read the comments you all wrote hoping someone would maybe provide a link to an article, as you guys often do – which is so helpful. However there is none there – so far. Maybe someone will add a link later on. I sure hope so! I have no idea what the indictments are about and Ray’s article was no help in figuring it out.

Thank you Bob for the link and thank you Zachary for the moral support. I still don’t get it, but now I have a sort of idea of what this is about – and in an odd way it sort of makes sense.
Certainly the idea that anything the Russians might have done would actually affect the out come of the vote more than a) Hillary’s secrecy about her wall street ties, b) her skipping campaigning in 3 of the most important states c) Comey re opening his investigation within days of the election d) Hillary waging a truly colorless campaign that didn’t speak to the working man at all.
Anyone who thinks Russia posting ads on Facebook or twitter out ranks these things has their head hidden away where the sun don’t shine (I think you all know where that is). I can certainly understand why some people might think this whole blame Russia kick is a way to clear Hillary of guilt for a major screw up.

backwardsevolution

April 20, 2018 at 8:59 am

ranney – Sean Hannity is the only person I know of who has been following this on a nightly basis. Give him a watch if you want to know what’s going on. It reads like a crime novel.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:49 pm

Hillary dropping like a ton of bricks on a beautiful lower 70’s morning at the 9/11 Memorial gathering then being thrown into the back of her van like a side of beef then losing her shoe! in the process didn’t exactly raise confidence in her health. Especially when she was whisked to Chelsea’s penthouse rather than to the nearest E.R.

Of course then proper E.R. protocols would have been followed, labs drawn etc. Couldn’t have that!!!!

Pft

April 19, 2018 at 4:26 pm

Sounds like it could be partisan politics at work and that the referral lacks credibility to investigators.. Still, its news that should be reported and not ignored, even if it does not mean much in and of itself.

I dont deny crimes by those referred. However, pretty much everyone in these positions over the last 55 years in both parties could be similarly referred

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 5:42 pm

Pft – “However, pretty much everyone in these positions over the last 55 years in both parties could be similarly referred.”

Hardly! Lying to a FISA Court judge in order to get a warrant to spy on an opposing candidate/President-elect, unmaskings, coincidental (yeah, right!) meeting on an Arizona tarmac between Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton, the exoneration of Hillary Clinton by Comey BEFORE she was even interviewed re her destruction and erasing of subpoenaed emails/hard drives, immunity given to all of her lawyers and aides…..the list goes on and on and on.

Then there’s Uranium One and the money that was funneled into the Clinton Foundation by world leaders for favors, the missing $145 million from the Clinton Foundation…..and on and on.

The criminality runs deep. Ray is right. If this isn’t cleaned up, then there is no justice.

PFT, so you agree that crimes might have been committed but they shouldn’t be prosecuted because other committed the same crimes and were not prosecuted and besides, the people bringing the charges are politically motivated. With this reasoning we might as well take the criminal statutes that pertain to such crimes off the books. The possibilities beyond the political world for prosecuting crimes are endless if such reasoning prevails.

Or did I miss something.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:56 pm

Imagine the situation where the sailor snapped some pictures of him and his buddies in his submarine to show the family and he served a year in prison for that. I am happy Trump pardoned him.

Then we have Hillary committing charity fraud internationally and sending and receiving classified documents, destroying evidence subpoenaed by Congress then LYING about it under oath and what happened? She traveled to India with Huma and broke her wrist!

Now THAT is what I call a two-tiered system of justice!

Abby

April 20, 2018 at 1:40 am

I agree with the other comments that stated that what happened during the election by by the president’s minions of the party she belongs to try to get information on her opponent is a scandal of the highest level. I’ve seen people saying that this is bigger than Watergate and I agree with that. What did Obama know and when did he find out about it?

That Comey and others thought that this would have been swept under the rug if she won shows that they knew that what they were doing was illegal.

Abbybwood

April 20, 2018 at 8:58 pm

Maybe that is where the real swamp is! Under the rug!!!

nice2blucky

April 19, 2018 at 4:20 pm

McGovern’s use of the phrase, “Constitutional crisis”, in the first paragraph is never really expanded upon.

This backlash against institutionally situated neoliberal apparatchik is welcome because it is one of corruptive hubris at the highest levels of (supposedly) honorable and credible institutions.

Unfortunately, the Justice Department and FBI have served as guard dogs of power within establishment and the financial elites — as well as, a club against the actual, progressive left — rather than blind arbiters for fair and equitable distribution of justice.

Circumstances like this always bring to light the qualitative difference between intelligent and smart. It’s the corruptive ambition of the smart that so degrades institutional integrity, and it is more so compounded by the collectively smart.

This is a political conspiracy within the corridors of justice — unfortunately not uncommon. What is uncommon is to be publicly caught; and it’s virtually unheard to be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.

It’s much less surprising that it’s Republicans in pursuit. Democrats lack the gumption for anything beyond political theatre.

I immediately wondered if the Constitutional crisis, to which McGovern was referring, was a precedent for partisan purges of institutions and agencies by whichever presiding political Party. This is a welcome purging, to a certain extent; the extent is when it becomes perpetually purely political or discriminatory. To that extent, we are in a constant state of crisis.

Also, as the political system exists, (as noted) this avenue, of political persecution and purging is open only to Republicans because Democrats lack the uniformity and wherewithal to take similarly determined action.

The exception by Democrats would possibly be impeaching Donald Trump.

Trump is a uniquely impeachable character — specifically, because, if not for popularity within the Republican voting base, Republicans can’t stand Trump, either.

But for Democrats to unabashedly purge agencies and institutions, especially the NSA or CIA, etc., and even Justice, is a bridge too far.

What this means, in real effect, is that there will never be a balancing or reckoning within government to counter decades of infiltration by right wing (neo-con, neoliberal) ideologues and their domination within the corridors of power.

So the truth is, that, many Constitutional crises exist, precisely because (colluding, neoliberal) Democrats lack the intention or determination to balance out the infiltration and institutional domination of the neo-con right.

This crisis is an ongoing crisis, where Republicans make examples of (even, faux) leftists, to keep any and all institutions in line (working on behalf of Republicans) or stacked in favor of Republicans.

So, once again, the principled left and other objective people, are put in a position of, either, supporting clean government, by acknowledging wrongdoing by political-minded and partisan government employees — and tacitly endorsing a partisan Republican assault upon so-called or self-identifying liberals — or under some vaguely comprehendible rationalization, begrudgingly fighting the partisan-Republican assault.

Because everyone must know, it’s not about Republicans “believ[ing] that those in positions of high authority should be treated the same as every other American, [and they] want to be sure that the potential violations of law outlined below are vetted appropriately”; that’s a load of shit.

This is a one-sided partisan purging, a perpetuation and continuation of standard Congressional Republican tactics, the shameless — and to their delight in this case, a righteous — prosecution of the Republican agenda.

E Wright

April 19, 2018 at 4:53 pm

I really enjoyed Ray McGovern’s essay and your reply. But if I may boldly summarise – you are saying that this particular Republican caucus are doing the right thing for the wrong reasons? No doubt about it – but at least it gets the hypocrisy out in the open, sort of. As Ray suggests, it is all for naught if the MSM can control the narrative.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 5:50 pm

nice2 – “…this avenue of political persecution and purging is open only to Republicans because Democrats lack the uniformity and wherewithal to take similarly determined action. The exception by Democrats would possibly be impeaching Donald Trump.”

Yeah, and that’s a pretty big exception, isn’t it? Go after Donald Trump before and after the election – hound him, in fact – re Russian collusion, smear him in every way possible, with absolutely no evidence, tie his hands completely, and then downplay the injustice of doing it.

The MSM, all major newspapers, the Democrats, some Republicans have tarred and feathered Trump, and I think part of the reason for doing this has been to cover up the tracks of the guilty parties on the Democrat side, i.e. accuse Trump of collusion with Russia when it was your side all along, through Uranium One, who colluded with the Russians.

It’s interesting that hardly anyone knows about this, isn’t it? It’s not been spoken about in the media – at all – except for a few brave individuals. Virtually all Americans are in the dark about this. This is a travesty of injustice.

Kalen

April 19, 2018 at 9:09 pm

If FBI IS TRYING TO RIG ELECTIONS FOR ONE CANDIDATE IT IS CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS BY IMPAIRING CONSTITUTIONAL POWER OF STATES TO RUN ELECTIONS WITHOUT FEDERAL INTERFERENCE.

IN THE SAME SPIRIT PRESIDENT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION CANNOT USE US GOVERNMENT OR CHARGE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR ELECTIONEERING OR EXPENSES .

CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS IS WHEN PEROGATIVES OF SEPARATE POWERS COLLIDE IN ACTS AND DECLARATIONS.

nice2blucky

April 19, 2018 at 10:32 pm

This is not a case of the FBI trying to rig an election for one candidate, but elements within the FBI allegedly acting to do so.

There is a difference. This is not a formal act of a department or institution. It just so happens that some in its leadership at DOJ, FBI — and who knows which other institutions, agencies, or departments — are involved leadership may have engaged in questionable activities with potentially multiple purposes.

I don’t agree that Constitutional crises are limited to circumstances where one branch of government is pitted against another.

I think we in constant Constitutional crisis because Congress has abdicated its Constitutional responsibility to act as a check against the Executive Branch, many, many times.

It is the usurpation or assertion of authority by one branch over another or others that causes a Constitutional crisis, as well.

Again, this is not the FBI claiming a right to interfere with elections or to favor one candidate. This is persons, who happen to hold leadership and other positions allegedly acting (against?) for one candidate over another.

Crimes can precede or trigger a Constitutional crisis. But a crime, itself, is not a Constitutional crisis.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 9:46 pm

nice2 – “Trump is a uniquely impeachable character — specifically, because, if not for popularity within the Republican voting base, Republicans can’t stand Trump, either.”

No, some members of the Republicans do not like Trump and they are fighting him, with the Democrats, every inch of the way. Trump wants to end globalization, concentrate on the U.S., bring jobs back, and that is a no-no for even some Republicans. They, along with the Democrats, are too bought!

Zim

April 19, 2018 at 3:17 pm

‘Perps’ – perfect description for Clinton et.al.

patrick lucius

April 19, 2018 at 2:57 pm

Is it just me, or is the American political scene just about as fascinating right now as it has ever been? Was Watergate more involved and more interesting? Maybe the Civil War? The Revolutionary War, and the period just before and just after? One of the things that makes this so fascinating is that various governmental agencies and bodies have achieved (naturally evolved?) a level of corruption and/or dysfunction (entropy? too many factors?) not seen before, or only rarely seen. I’m referring primarily to the FBI and the Congress I think–but how much the NSA and CIA are involved is also a question (even just as witnesses, or recorders, of the events…). Also, I do not know if we have ever seen this level of corruption, or dysfunction (simple ineptitude?), in so much of the media. How will this end? I’m wondering if there was a similar sort of frenetic energy just prior to either WWI or WWII? fre-net-ic : fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way. synonyms: frantic, wild, frenzied, hectic, fraught, feverish, fevered, mad, manic, hyperactive, energetic, intense, amped-up, fast and furious, turbulent, tumultuous. From Merriam-Webster: “But if you trace frenetic back through Anglo-French and Latin, you’ll find that it comes from Greek phrenitis, a term describing an inflammation of the brain. Phren, the Greek word for “mind,” is a root you will recognize in schizophrenic…” The absolute ineptitude of the press to tell the truth, or perhaps rather to see the truth (I think they still prefer that Hilary would have won, which very well could have precipitated WWIII), is astounding and in itself lacks the basic objectivity which real journalism requires. It appears to me that the mainstream media is now phrasing the narrative with great bias, telling us how they think we should think. Has it ever been so? I don’t think so. To quote Shakespeare and Huxley, “O brave new world!” I am glad that Trump is in office, and I hope he prevails. If just the introduction of someone like Trump causes such an uproar to the system, obviously there needs to be some adjustment, and I hope that means some adjustment to the system, rather than the elimination of Trump.

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 4:07 pm

While you and Trump are having fun with all the drama, the world is burning, people are dying, and ancient species are being extinguished forever.

Patric Lucius

April 19, 2018 at 5:27 pm

Hello Mike K. I would not say that I am having fun but I would certainly say that I am fascinated and that this entire subject and drama has captivated me. I might add that I came to support Trump on the late side. I was a Bernie supporter at first until he was ousted. In hindsight, I think I’m glad Trump won and not Bernie. At any rate I would also add that my reason for voting for Trump was that I thought Hillary was a complete warmonger and Trump looked like the peace candidate to me. Regarding species being extinguished and the world being burnt, I certainly have no doubt or little doubt that Hillary would be far worse for the globe than Trump with this criteria. I am not 100% happy with Trump and his EPA but at least with Trump we will have an environment as opposed to Hillary who I thought could very well have ushered in World War 3 with her no fly zone stance in Syria. Her responsibility for the destruction of Libya and also her responsibility for appointing Victoria Nuland, Kagan’s wife, to Secretary of European Affairs, revealed her to be a neocon of the worst sort. I will say that drinking the Kool-Aid was not easy, the first sip was the hardest but it got progressively easier. I used to hate Fox News but I must confess I now change it is the best news on television, which is NOT saying a whole lot. Maybe this is what happens when one hits their mid-to-late 50s and I’m definitely watching out for other signs of old age. At any rate Trump was the first Republican I ever voted for at least that I can recall, and though I have been a lifelong Democrat, I prefer the Libertarians or Independents now, and perhaps even the Republicans. The liberal media and the Democrat Party has lost me, most likely for good. I’m also enjoying Pat Buchanan these days and would recommend him to readers. Also Stephen Cohen of the Nation.

Ichimera

April 19, 2018 at 7:35 pm

Patric, it is scary how you have articulated exactly what is in my head. I find this drama to be all-absorbing and can’t believe how easily all this Information can be found on the internet with a minimum of effort. This beats reading novels hands down, all I hope for is some justice being served. We will slowly find out just how deep and wide the swamp really is, but there is definitely a visible crack. Whether the crack makes a difference or not remains to be seen.

Litchfield

April 19, 2018 at 8:35 pm

Patric: You express very well a response that is (not identical) but similar to mine.
My way of putting it: It feels in the USA today like maybe how if felt in the USSR, when the people pored over photos of the Politburo to see whether they could figure out what was going on in the Kremlin from who stood next to whom; who was smiling and who was scowling; and other such. We really have little idea of what the deep state vulcans in Washington are up to; who is really in charge; what goes on in Trump’s mind; if he has one; etc. I, too, ended up voting for Trump, but with a different calculation. Since I lieve in a blue, non-swing state, I reckoned it didn’t matter which way I voted, but I did want to lessen the Hillary mandate. Imagine my surprise on Election Day!! In the end I fouind that I was incredulous but also relieved—delighted, actually—as the returns were reported. Delighted partly out of hatred for and fear of Hillary, but also to see the Hill-gemon brought down and all the expectations overturned!! It was fun to see the hair tearing and garment renting and primal screaming etc. on TV.

And, we learned so much about our polity and our deep state from their activities in the stunned aftermath. Interesting to see how the “Weinstein moment” arrived just in time to leverage the hatred of Trump and send it ballistic on yet another front.

Indeed, the number of different fronts in this political/cultural struggle is what makes it fascinating. Doubtless there has always been a multiplicity of fronts in all of our political and cultural conflicts, but we possibly see more of the shadows on the walls of the cave and their complex interactions because of the existence of the Internet.

Lucius Patrick

April 20, 2018 at 12:17 am

Funny, Litchfield–we have similar voting stories with Trump. I voted for Trump out here in blue California, and it occurred to me as I voted that Trump did indeed scare me, and that if my vote really counted and it all came down to my vote, I might actually vote for Hillary. But I did vote for Trump, who I had been rooting for in those last few weeks. I stayed up that night until the results were pretty much in, and I was whooping it up as the results started to show that Trump might indeed do it, so I got over my fear pretty quickly. Much of what has happened since then has given me the impression that the Democrats are sore losers, and being one who often roots for the underdog as well as the guy who is persecuted unjustly, I have found myself to be more of a Trump fan than ever.

Dave P.

April 20, 2018 at 12:35 am

Lucious Patric – Your comments exactly convey my own thoughts, for the reasons you enumerated so clearly and honestly. And, despite being a life long progressive Democrat, I also still believe that if Hillary would have been elected, we would be in World War III by this time. I too am done with the Democratic Party. Actually I got thoroughly disgusted with the Democratic Party during the Obama and Hillary Administration and was done with it. Democratic Party today is a Wall Street Corporate War Loving Party of and for the latte sipping Liberals or rather NeoLiberals as they are.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 5:59 pm

mike k – nice deflection. The world is burning precisely because Trump is being vilified for something he didn’t do (and the Democrats know it!) while Hillary Clinton, the FBI, the CIA, the Department of Justice have committed the REAL crimes.

Had Hillary Clinton gotten in, I can assure you that the three buildings Trump bombed last Friday would pale in comparison to what she would have done with her calls for a “no fly zone”. Assad would be dead by now.

mike k

April 20, 2018 at 2:32 pm

I can understand your reaction B.E. as a Trump fan. But there really are issues greater than D. Trump facing us now, even as much as he is making almost all of these problems worse. My reasons for wanting Trump out have nothing to do with the bogus Russiagate affair, as you well know. The love affair many have with a Trump of their own imaginations I find distracting and ridiculous. Try to tote up the harms this man has done to our chances to survive this dangerous period of our history. I haven’t got enough time or energy to do that for you. If you can’t see it, it is because you don’t want to see it.

backwardsevolution

April 20, 2018 at 5:25 pm

mike k – and I can understand your reaction, mike k, as a person who is working very hard to have Trump impeached.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 5:55 pm

patrick – excellent post. You are right, the amount of corruption is absolutely staggering. What has gone on behind the scenes and NOT reported by the media is staggering too. What it points out to me is that the media have a virtual monopoly on what gets told, and they need to be split up and their monopoly ended ASAP.

Litchfield

April 19, 2018 at 8:36 pm

I seem to recall that the major media consolidation occurred under Bill Clinton.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 9:52 pm

Litchfield – yes, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed under Bill Clinton. This enabled the big players to buy out all the little players until now we have 90% of the media being owned by six corporations. Talk about a monopoly on information!

Also, Reagan got rid of the Fairness Doctrine whereby media had to show BOTH sides of an issue.

Both have been disasters for the truth.

exiled off mainstreet

April 19, 2018 at 10:21 pm

I agree with your view of the situation, but I am afraid this whole Mueller FBI thing is a way to help manipulate Trump to perform the harpy’s role as a warmonger. I think he should sack Rosenstein, Mueller and the lot of them including Sessions if he won’t perform that duty, and should go after the corrupt crowd mentioned in the article. Of course he should also follow his campaign promises and refrain from further war crimes. If the democrats used war crimes as their rationale for impeachment, I would support it because Trump is now provably guilty, and if he continues the same policies in Syria and elsewhere based on phony pretexts, all we got for defeating the harpy was a year or so extra before WWIII. I remember something I saw in Britain the day after Major got reelected despite inklings he could be beaten in the ’92 election,”no matter who wins, the government is returned.” I also see the yankee imperium as having degenerated into the first two party version of fascism in history. If you look at the regime, its failure of the rule of law where any person they want can be convicted based on extra-legal laws and methods, and if you view the consistent propaganda spewing from all corporate media including the Murdoch group which now seems to allow a bit more diversity such as Tucker Carlson, it closely resembles that produced by a Goebbels style propaganda ministry.

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 2:54 pm

@Moderator:

Recently my posts seem to pop up to the head of the line, when they used to modestly take their place at the end of the queue. What gives? I’m not comfortable grabbing the top spot.

Consortiumnews.com

April 19, 2018 at 3:28 pm

We are now posting comments most recent first, rather than last, so that readers do not need to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the newest comments. You will notice that your comment is no longer “at the head of the line.”

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 4:14 pm

So now, to get the evolving conversation, I need to start reading at the bottom and go up? Strange.

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 4:15 pm

I guess it relates to my (our) habit of reading from top to bottom.

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 4:23 pm

But I notice that LarcoMarco at 3;56 was the most recent comment, and ended up at the bottom? Mistake in the new system? I find these changes confusing……… What was wrong with the old system?

LarcoMarco

April 19, 2018 at 4:53 pm

My posting was a reply to the first (GM) post.

David G

April 19, 2018 at 4:45 pm

Eds.: With the new orientation, wouldn’t it make sense to move the “Leave a Reply” box to the top?

Litchfield

April 19, 2018 at 8:46 pm

This switch makes no sense to me.
Why should the first person to post be shoved to the end?
Leave the comments in chronological order.
They are logically related.
Even if a lster post is not an official “reply,” many posts reflect themes mentioned earlier.
Or, at the very least, offer the choice of first last or last first.

Twiddle twiddle twiddling the dial . . . For what purpose?
I wonder how long some cog in the wheels was just waiting for a chance to make this unneeded change.

If you really want to put the “most recent” first, why not reverse the order of the sentences. In other words, if you think that most recent should be read first, then put the last line of each post first, then the next to last, etc. Then the replies, too, will be in the “correct” reverse order!!! At least, be consistent. Why read an individual post from top to bottom, but the whole thread is backwards?

Yeah. pretty stoopid. But really no more stoopid, and annoying, than putting the last post first.

Dave P.

April 20, 2018 at 12:07 am

I agree with you. I think this switch is not a good idea. It is very confusing – and not needed. Also, these multi-colored symbols next to the names are a big distraction. This kind of art is for the children. The comments as were posted before this switch is a better format. And that format was way better than the formats on many other News Websites.

Eddie

April 20, 2018 at 3:00 pm

SUGGESTION: Setup a ‘sort sequence’ option for the reader such that he/she could INDIVIDUALLY define what sequence they wanted to view comments. I’ve seen that done on other websites so its not exactly a leading-edge/groundbreaking idea…

The biggest problem I have with the artwork is that my eyes are constantly drawn to it. Each time interrupting my attention to the thread with the thought, what is that?

Uncle Bob

April 19, 2018 at 2:51 pm

Waco, 25 years ago today..
OKC , 23 years ago today

…errie

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 2:45 pm

But maybe Nunes et al don’t need to score a knock out to gain enough points with the public to influence the next election? But to what end? Must give us pause…….

Is there really a way out of the Kafkaesque maze in DC? Maybe if we just started all over……..? But what are the chances of that? Zip to nil.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 7:02 pm

Nunes has been looking into this Democrat corruption since August of 2016, a year and a half ago. He has been stonewalled in his attempts to get documents over and over again. He has had to resort to subpoenas issued to the DOJ and FBI. When he gets documents, they’re heavily redacted. When he asks them to give him a clean copy with no redactions, he gets back another one with maybe one more name unredacted, and on and on.

This is like pulling teeth. So not only are the media covering up for Hillary Clinton, James Comey, McCabe, et al, the DOJ and FBI are not cooperating – at all.

It’s not coming out now to influence the election. It’s coming out now because Nunes and Gowdy HAVE gone through the proper channels, but have been hampered in their efforts.

All of this should have come out at the time, but the media is bought and paid for by the Democrats.

Sure, save the children, save the whales, but let the criminals go free. Once freed, they’ll be able to kill more children, which they will undoubtedly do.

Abby

April 20, 2018 at 1:49 am

On top of that, we have Brennan and others on national news media being able to tell their side of the story while Trump has to rely on Twitter. And because people hate him because they think that he robbed Hillary of the presidency, they listen to Brennan instead of realizing that they have been duped by the biggest propaganda since the WMDs one.

mike k

April 19, 2018 at 2:40 pm

Wouldn’t it be nice to see the spooks squirming in the hot seat for a change? But of course they have “nine ways from Sunday” to get back at, and control their would be prosecutors. It will be a real rats on rats cage match if it comes off.

GM

April 19, 2018 at 2:18 pm

I predict that all concerned parties will skate scot-free, for a pessimist, a wise person once said, is but an informed optimist

LarcoMarco

April 19, 2018 at 3:56 pm

TBTJ (too big to jail) will prevail.

backwardsevolution

April 19, 2018 at 6:03 pm

GM and LarcoMarco – I don’t think so. Nunes and Gowdy on the House Intel Committee are quite serious in their pursuit of justice. I expect to see Rod Rosenstein go down too.

Again, if the media had been reporting any of this, people would be screaming and up in arms. The media are just not doing their jobs.

will

April 20, 2018 at 11:26 pm

you’d almost think Trumpkin wasn’t a base criminal in cahoots with the Russian mob…

backwardsevolution

April 21, 2018 at 5:30 am

will – “you’d almost think Trumpkin wasn’t a base criminal in cahoots with the Russian mob…”

Well, if you had any brain, you most certainly would think that.

Concerned Citizen

April 23, 2018 at 12:25 am

Will,
Nothing personel but I suggest you take the “history” taught to us all (along with current propoganda) in america and temporarily shelve it and check out F. William Engdahl ex. (Less popular but more honest and accurate writers and historians). The evil “russians” narrative is grossly inacurate. Russia has been attempting reconciliation w/ USA since before WW2. After the brutal “liberalization” of russia post soviet collapse managed by western banks, duplicitous D.C. admin., imf and integrationist oligarchs (soros types) the citizens suffered unimaginable horrors. Putin takes over for the drunken sellout Yeltsin and goes about the staggering task of resusitating the country. He and his admin. did what D.C. cannot nor could imagine, giving ultimatums to the ologarchs to work for the good of the country rather than against or get out. That is why his approval rating is far beyond that of our self serving puppets. I could go on but I’ll let you do the studying for yourself. As to meddling, please! The russians know that it matters not the puppet in the throne in America, the foreign policy marches on everexpanding, breaking int. law etc.. under “humanitarian intervention”, towards the east. Russian agression, hacking? Who has 1000 mil. bases worldwide, who has encircled russia and china? Nato and it’s western benefators. Provoking other nuclear powers is madness! And yes, russia has gained military primacy w/ the west if not superiority in a couple areas. Cheerleading for either party is folly. Will sanity ever gather purchase among the polical players in the west? Maybe, if the citizenry awakens to demand it, but the brainwashing machines have done a number on us over the last 3/4 century. But stranger things have happened.

P.S. not a bot or a troll, just an average american on to their lies.

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